Let's Talk 2 Cycle Mixes

[MarkinNC]

Cheapskate at work in my house. I mix 50:1 on the least expensive 2-cycle oil rated for air cooled engines at that mix ratio that I can find; also premium fuel with stabilizer. With that I cut 10 +/- cords per year of firewood for the stove and gasser plus tree felling for lumber in the typical range of 5000 bd ft per year. My Husky 372XPG with 18" bar has been the saw of choice on this since 2002 and I never have done anything to the saw -- no new plugs, fuel filter, or air cleaner -- except clean the air filter, sharpen the chains, dress the bar and keep it full of bar oil. The Husky purrs today as well as when it was new.

I love your post soley because I have a 372xp!

 

[MasterMech]

For those wondering, Amsoil says you can mix their oil up at 50:1 or any ratio that pleases you if the recomended 100:1 makes you nervous.

 

[Battenkiller]

For those wondering, Amsoil says you can mix their oil up at 50:1 or any ratio that pleases you if the recomended 100:1 makes you nervous.

Yes, and that fact makes it a lot more forgiving. That's the main reason why I am willing to spend a few extra pennies on the Saber.

We go through a lot of gas while carving, so I can't run off to the gas station to get exactly one metered gallon. I get about 15 gallons of gas but only make up a small can of mix at a time to make sure it's always fresh. My mixing flask only has markings 1/2 gallon increments and my conveniently sized No-Spill mix can is 1 1/4 gallons. There is plenty of headroom above the top mark, though, and it's hard to see the gas level through the red plastic. By going to a 100:1 ratio oil, if I add a little too much gas to the can... NBD.

 

[MasterMech]

Anybody ever read the back of the bottle on Stihl's HP Ultra Synthetic? It pretty much says serve it up in shot glasses and enjoy! lol

 

[Highbeam]

I haven't been able to find 2 cycle oil that did not claim to include a stabilizer. Still, I add sta-bil to every 5 gallon jug that I buy for use with the small engines.

 

[MarkinNC]

I haven't been able to find 2 cycle oil that did not claim to include a stabilizer. Still, I add sta-bil to every 5 gallon jug that I buy for use with the small engines.

You may be correct, that may be saw shop fantasy. I am using stabil as well. I think they have a new ethanol product out?

 

[smokinj]

I haven't been able to find 2 cycle oil that did not claim to include a stabilizer. Still, I add sta-bil to every 5 gallon jug that I buy for use with the small engines.

You may be correct, that may be saw shop fantasy. I am using stabil as well. I think they have a new ethanol product out?

They do thats what I use. Even makes the gas smell more like gas.

 

[oilstinks]

i read somewhere from a husky dealer that they see less piston scoreing on the stihl ultra hp than any other oil. Mix the ratio of your oil to manufacture specs. If not mix it your way the same all the time and have your equipment tuned to your mix. Equipment will lean(less gas more oil carbon build up) or richen(less oil more gas not enough lube) depending on your mix. Small engines might not be as finicky but my race gas feed trx250r atv has taught me alot on 2strokes over the years.

 

[smokinj]

i read somewhere from a husky dealer that they see less piston scoreing on the stihl ultra hp than any other oil. Mix the ratio of your oil to manufacture specs. If not mix it your way the same all the time and have your equipment tuned to your mix. Equipment will lean(less gas more oil carbon build up) or richen(less oil more gas not enough lube) depending on your mix. Small engines might not be as finicky but my race gas feed trx250r atv has taught me alot on 2strokes over the years.

yea, for me 50:1 on a 122cc saw milling is not enough even though they say it is I run 40:1. Tuning doesn't change from 50:1 to 40:1. You can pretty much look at any saw turning 12.5k rpms and up as a racing engine.

 

[DuckDog]

I'v been running Amsoil Sabre @ 80:1 in my saw, trimmer and boat for years. No issues at all. Best part is 1 mix for everything 2 stroke.

 

[Kenster]

I'm always afraid I'm going to grab a 40:1 bottle for my saw mix instead of a 50:1. Will it make much difference in the operation of the saw OR potential wear and damage?

MS390 with muffler mod.

 

[wood-fan-atic]

Stihl Ultra. No substitutes. No problems.

 

[MasterMech]

I'm always afraid I'm going to grab a 40:1 bottle for my saw mix instead of a 50:1. Will it make much difference in the operation of the saw OR potential wear and damage?

MS390 with muffler mod.

The only ill effects I see that causing would be extra smoke and maybe some slight carbon build up. I don't see you killing an otherwise healthy saw.

 

[Kenster]

I guess it's better to have a little too much oil than not enough. Another worry is when I have the little bottle that is made to mix one gallon and I am pouring gas from a five gallon can into my one gallon saw gas can. It's hard to determine exactly a gallon so the mix might not be perfect. I don't suppose this is critical as long as I'm really close?

 

[MasterMech]

I'm anal with mix ratio. My routine goes a little like this... Add .5 gallons of gas to my 1.25 gallon can, dump 1 2.6oz bottle of mix oil in (50:1), then add gas to the mix bottle to grab all the oil inside, dump that in the can and top off to 1.0 gallons.

Next time your at the gas station, fill your can with 1.0 gallons and use a marker to mark the level. Easiest way to double check against bad pump meters and makes it easier to fill out of another can.

Yeah I suppose if your close your not going to blow anything up. Better to err on the conservative side tho.

 

[Kenster]

My heavy plastic gas can has a mark on the outside to show one gallon, but the plastic is so thick you can't see through it tell exactly where the gas level is inside. Maybe I should make myself a dip stick.

 

[MasterMech]

I have a mega bright LED flashlight that works well for that purpose. Shine it inside the filler neck. Small enough to toss in the glove box in the trucks.

 

[CTYank]

i read somewhere from a husky dealer that they see less piston scoreing on the stihl ultra hp than any other oil. Mix the ratio of your oil to manufacture specs. If not mix it your way the same all the time and have your equipment tuned to your mix. Equipment will lean(less gas more oil carbon build up) or richen(less oil more gas not enough lube) depending on your mix. Small engines might not be as finicky but my race gas feed trx250r atv has taught me alot on 2strokes over the years.

yea, for me 50:1 on a 122cc saw milling is not enough even though they say it is I run 40:1. Tuning doesn't change from 50:1 to 40:1. You can pretty much look at any saw turning 12.5k rpms and up as a racing engine.

No-load speed is not quite the same thing as speed under load. Some few thou off.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I'm always afraid I'm going to grab a 40:1 bottle for my saw mix instead of a 50:1. Will it make much difference in the operation of the saw OR potential wear and damage?

MS390 with muffler mod.

None whatsoever. I buy AvGas 5 gallons at a time so for sheer convenience I dump a pint in the can which makes 40:1. Been doing it for years.
.

 

[Thistle]

My routine goes a little like this... Add .5 gallons of gas to my 1.25 gallon can, dump 1 2.6oz bottle of mix oil in (50:1), then add gas to the mix bottle to grab all the oil inside, dump that in the can and top off to 1.0 gallons.

That's exactly how I've done it for years.Add a bit of gas to the empty oil bottle,shake it good,add that to the 1/2 gallon mixed then top it off & shake again.Do the same procedure when mixing the occasional 2.5 gallon batch.Just use the same Husky Premium oil in the 6.4oz bottle.

 

[jharkin]

I don't have nearly the experience running saws as a lot of guys here but I will throw in my vote. I have settled on using plain old Penzoil air cooled at 32:1 in everything.

Reason... One of my other hobbies is flying big gas powered remote control airplanes. One of the airfields I flew out of we shared with an ultralight club. Those guys depend on their engine running right to get home in one piece and they all used either Amsoil or Penzoil. If Penzoil is good enough for an airplane I figure its good enough for for tools.


Since there seems to be some real oil geeks here you guys might find this interesting.. This guy tested a half dozen oils and then tore down the motor each time and documented each oils effect on carbon build up, piston scuffing, run temperature, etc
http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/articles/oil_test/index.htm

 

[smokinj]

i read somewhere from a husky dealer that they see less piston scoreing on the stihl ultra hp than any other oil. Mix the ratio of your oil to manufacture specs. If not mix it your way the same all the time and have your equipment tuned to your mix. Equipment will lean(less gas more oil carbon build up) or richen(less oil more gas not enough lube) depending on your mix. Small engines might not be as finicky but my race gas feed trx250r atv has taught me alot on 2strokes over the years.

yea, for me 50:1 on a 122cc saw milling is not enough even though they say it is I run 40:1. Tuning doesn't change from 50:1 to 40:1. You can pretty much look at any saw turning 12.5k rpms and up as a racing engine.

No-load speed is not quite the same thing as speed under load. Some few thou off.

880 is a toque monster 460 on the other hand is tune to 14.5 :cheese:

 

[turbocruiser]

Can I change the thread just slightly to ask about the recently released Stihl Moto Mix

http://www.stihldealer.net/stihlmotomix-dealer-_yraje.aspx

My main problem is that I really never need more than 1 gallon at a time and because of all the added ethanol around here gasoline won't stay fresh for long. I may actually "save" some money with not wasting stale gasoline or worse off yet stale gasoline/oil mix however at almost $8 per quart that might be my imagination! Thanks.

Mods: If this is more appropriate for another thread altogether, please feel free to delete this. Thanks.

 

[MasterMech]

Can I change the thread just slightly to ask about the recently released Stihl Moto Mix

http://www.stihldealer.net/stihlmotomix-dealer-_yraje.aspx

My main problem is that I really never need more than 1 gallon at a time and because of all the added ethanol around here gasoline won't stay fresh for long. I may actually "save" some money with not wasting stale gasoline or worse off yet stale gasoline/oil mix however at almost $8 per quart that might be my imagination! Thanks.

Mods: If this is more appropriate for another thread altogether, please feel free to delete this. Thanks.

I'm seeing these pre-mixed fuels popping up at different shops here too. I have no experience using them myself but haven't heard any negatives other than it's very expensive to use. If you can't stand the thought of using E10 gasoline/ethanol in your 2-cycle equipment then this would be my first recomendation. I don't encourage folks to use 100LL AvGas in their equipment because of the lead content and the extra octane is unnecessary. Remember that new equipment is coming out with stratocharged engines (kind of like EGR for 2-strokes) and catalytic mufflers. AvGas will poison those mufflers and the lead deposits in the engines aren't helpful either. Plus 100LL AvGas is illegal in anything other than an aircraft and expensive to boot.

FWIW I have had good results using Stihl's HP Ultra Synthetic oil mixed with E10 gasoline and storing it in the can and the machine for months at a time. I mix 1 gallon at a time and it usually lasts me for a few weeks unless I'm cutting wood or blowing leaves. My BR600 sees maybe 1 tank of fuel all summer and knock on wood, no fuel storage issues yet.

I think the pre-mixed fuels are going to be a fad that will either never really take off or go away altogether. $8 a quart is $16 a gallon, holy wallet-shock batman! Not really a viable option if you burn much of the stuff. The real fix to the ethanol "problem" is the manufacturers need to ensure the materials in the fuel system are alchohol compatible. Especially in recent years, even the European manufacturer's awareness of E10/rubber compatibility issues in North America has been improved and as a result their have been fewer and fewer issues in new machines. Now if only we could make "E10 ready" Gasket kits for older carb's we'd be all set.

 

[Thistle]

$8 a quart is $16 a gallon

Actually there are 4 quarts to a gallon. So that'd be $32 instead. :bug: